The 2013 Bergy Awards

About four months ago, I told Andrew that I thought this would be the best year in film history. Well, now that we have come to the end of the year and awards season is beginning to wind down, I thought I should reflect about which films meant a lot to me, which ones I liked, and which ones I thought deserved special recognition. Well, for some odd reason, people seem to care what I think, and I have come to the understanding that I should share my thoughts with others. Without further ado, I present the 2013 Bergy Awards, honoring the best in film, not my favorite, but what I believe is the best.

Best Picture

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Skyfall

Just off the list:
Argo

Best Director

Ben Affleck - Argo

Kathryn Bigelow - Zero Dark Thirty

Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Just off the list:
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

Richard Gere - Arbitrage

Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables

Joaquin Phoenix - The Master

Just off the list:
Denzel Washington - Flight

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva - Amour 
Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild 
Naomi Watts - The Impossible

Just off the list:
Judi Dench - Skyfall

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Leonardo Di Caprio - Django Unchained

Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

Matthew McConaughey - Magic Mike 
Ezra Miller - The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Christolph Waltz - Django Unchained

Just off the list:
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams - The Master

Sally Field - Lincoln

Anne Hathaway - Les Misérables

Helen Hunt - The Sessions

Emma Watson - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Just off the list:

Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Best Ensemble Cast

Django Unchained

Les Misérables

Lincoln

Moonrise Kingdom

Silver Linings Playbook

Just off the list:

Skyfall

Best Original Screenplay

Paul Thomas Anderson - The Master

Mark Boal - Zero Dark Thirty

Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola - Moonrise Kingdom

Rian Johnson - Looper

Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained

Just off the list:

Nicholas Jarecki - Arbitrage

Best Adapted Screenplay

Luck Alibar, Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Stephen Chbosky - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Tony Kushner - Lincoln

David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook

Chris Terrio - Argo

Just off the list:

Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan and Sir Ian Fleming - Skyfall

Best Cinematography

Roger Deakins - Skyfall

Grieg Fraser - Zero Dark Thirty

Mihai Milaimare - The Master

Claudio Miranda - Life of Pi

Robert Richardson - Django Unchained

Just off the list:

Ben Richardson - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Art Direction

Hugh Bateup, Uli Hanisch - Cloud Atlas 

Rick Carter, Jim Erickson, Peter T. Frank - Lincoln 

David Gropman - Life of Pi 

Eve Stewart - Les Miserables 

Adam Stockhausen - Moonrise Kingdom

Just off the list: 
Dan Hennah (Production Design); Ra Vincent and Simon Bright (Set Decoration) - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Best Original Score

Mychael Danna - Life of Pi 
Alexandre Desplat - Argo 
Reinhold Heil, Johnny Kilmek, Tom Tykwer - Cloud Atlas 
Thomas Newman - Skyfall 
John Williams - Lincoln

Just off the list:
Howard Shore - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Look for my next article to discuss my thoughts on the year in film, and look for our choice of the winners to come the day after the Oscars.